diff --git a/mod/follow.php b/mod/follow.php
index 9ecfdd8760..ba4ff35f19 100644
--- a/mod/follow.php
+++ b/mod/follow.php
@@ -63,7 +63,9 @@ function follow_content(App $a)
 	$url = Strings::escapeTags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'url', '')));
 
 	// Issue 6874: Allow remote following from Peertube
-	$url = str_replace('acct:', '', $url);
+	if (strpos($url, 'acct:') === 0) {
+		$url = str_replace('acct:', '', $url);
+	}
 
 	if (!$url) {
 		$a->internalRedirect($return_path);